Now that I’ve shared the story of our move (and how horrible it was), I wanted to turn things to a more positive, helpful route and share a bit of how I practiced self-care while moving. Being totally transparent, it was incredibly hard on my body and mind for many reasons… I don’t want to get into them all over again, but trust me. It was rough. And I’m not always the best at practicing self-care when it really matters. But for this move, I knew I had to. My health has been stable recently and my body has been feeling good. So I knew that maintaining some semblance of routine and rhythm would really help. Here’s how I did it:
6 Things I Did to Practice Self-Care While Moving
Try to maintain a routine, especially with meals
I really struggle with maintaining routines, but I know that when I have one that I’m way happier. But it’s so hard when everything is in flux! One way that I tried to stay consistent is by planning meals and trying to eat around the same time every day. I was inspired to do this when I realized it was 4 pm one day and I had barely had anything to eat all day!
Drink water
SO OBVIOUS, but also SO IMPORTANT. My tendency is to caffeinate, but drinking water was always key to helping me keep going and stay in a positive mindset — even when our move was turning into a shitshow.
Have an end-of-day wind down
I LOVE getting into bed clean, even if we’re in the middle of moving house. So one thing that helped me practice self-care while moving was to always take a shower before bed — even if it’s 2 am and I’m exhausted. I’ve found that it’s my recipe for turning off my brain and preparing for bed… and I always sleep better.
Sleep when you can
This will probably be controversial to say, but here goes: moving is HARD and exhausting, so sleep when you can. Have an extra hour waiting for something? Take a nap. Feel like you can’t safely drive the moving truck because you’re so tired? Take a nap. I’m a firm believer in the life changing magic of taking a good nap, as you can tell.
You might be wondering how the naps affect my ability to sleep that night… well, usually after moving I’m too tired to even do anything, so it doesn’t! But if it does, I take a sleeping pill (consult with your doctor). To me, it’s more important to rest and reset when I can if it means I have to take a pill at night.
Give yourself a treat
It doesn’t have to be big or anything extravagant, but rewarding yourself while handling a move is huge. One night, I burned the expensive, amazing smelling candle that I’ve been saving. I also busted out my favorite, super-expensive face mask, indulged in a chocolate bar all to myself, and drive thru french fries for a snack. To me, it’s all about the little things… whatever it takes for you to smile or feel rewarded.
Text a friend
My girlfriends are my lifeline. We’re constantly in touch, but during our move I reached out to them and leaned on them even more. Without being able to complain, cry, and celebrate with them, I don’t know if I’d have made it out of that move alive. Sean is wonderful and he’s my husband, but there’s no replacement for firing off texts to your best friend in a moment of insane stress.
I know this list of self-care tips is sort of a weird one, but I hope it also serves as a reminder that self-care isn’t something that’s totally defined. YOU can define it for yourself based on whatever life stage you’re in… and it evolves.
